The Perfect Example of Republican Gaslighting

I'm publishing this letter to help more Americans know gaslighting when they see it (Scroll to the end to listen)

One of my subscribers got this doozy of a letter from their Republican House Representative. With their permission, I’m republishing it here.

Today, let’s do a deep dive into all the gaslighting and outright fabrications contained in this letter. It reveals all the talking points Republicans are using to gaslight this coup, regardless of which one is speaking or writing or bloviating.

The First Gaslighting Statement: It is important to note that Mr. Musk is a major defense contractor who has worked with the U.S. military and, as such, holds one of the highest-level security clearances.

As of last week, the White House couldn’t even answer whether Musk and his team of tech bros have security clearances. SOURCE: The New Republic: Does Elon Musk Even Have Security Clearance to Access Sensitive Data? from 4 February 2025.

According to the Daily Beast, Musk’s security clearance was being reviewed by the military in late 2024, because of numerous failures to report conversations with enemies and travel to enemy countries, plus open drug use on a podcast. SOURCE: The Daily Beast: Musk Under Federal Investigation for Flouting Security Clearance Rules 18 December 2024.

From The New Republic:

“Can you confirm that Elon Musk is a special government employee?” Collins asked. “And what kind of security clearance does he have?”

“I can confirm he’s a special government employee,” Leavitt replied. “I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws. As for his security clearance, I’m not sure, but I can check back with you.”

“Did he pass a background check, do you know?” Collins continued.

“I don’t know about the security clearance, but I can check,” Leavitt repeated.

Leavitt was also unaware as to whether Musk’s team—which consists of young people between the ages of 19 and 24—had received their own security clearances.

“I don’t, no, but again, I can check on that for you,” Leavitt said.

Even More Gaslighting: President Trump, and every President before him, has the constitutional authority vested under Article II to appoint individuals to help execute and facilitate their vision for our nation. President Trump designated Elon Musk as a "special government employee" through this constitutional authority and asked him to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE is simply the renamed and rebranded United States Digital Service (USDS) created by President Obama in 2014.

This is blatant Republican gaslighting. DOGE is not an official government agency. Instead, the administration unilaterally renamed the United States Digital Service. It is now called the United States DOGE Service, though several lawsuits have been filed over this change.

These lawsuits claim that DOGE violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires that all actions be accessible to the public and all meetings be open to the public. Advisory committees are required to be transparent and provide reports, transcripts, and working papers to the public.

DOGE is not releasing these items or allowing anyone to access the spaces they have commandeered. Instead, we are treated to scenes like this:

Congressional lawmakers locked out of the Department of Education

“Special government employees” are political appointees with very limited tenures. From the New Republic:

A special government employee is “anyone who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period,” according to the Justice Department.

In case anyone wants to count days on the calendar to determine when our economy and government could completely melt down. Hint: It’s sometime around the end of May 2025.

So Much More Gaslighting: Our spending is out of control, and DOGE is another tool to help President Trump cut down on wasteful spending and cut through the bureaucratic red tape that has plagued government efficiency for decades.

I don’t see Republicans complaining about the obscene cost of using military versus civilian aircraft to deport immigrants. According to Reuters, military flights cost substantially more per person than first class tickets.

Nor do I see them shrieking about a certain President’s daughter using USAID funds to buy video equipment for a White House event.

They also don’t seem to care about their unqualified defense secretary paying almost $50,000 of taxpayer funds to paint his new pad.

Republicans shrug at $7 million taxpayer dollars being appropriated to DOGE in less than a month. DOGE is an unapproved government agency that is the target of multiple lawsuits and employs people with questionable security clearances, with access to every American’s private data.

They also don’t care about the millions the Secret Service paid various Presidential properties during the first administration, and is likely still paying for the President to have a security detail at his various properties.

Of course, the biggest treasure chest is the Social Security trust fund, which they are blatantly talking about robbing from the millions of Americans who had no choice but to contribute to it their entire working lives.

Titanium-level Gaslighting: For my constituents who are concerned about the safety of their personal information, I, too, hold your safety and privacy in the highest regard. However, there is no evidence to support the allegation that Mr. Musk or his team has illegally accessed sensitive data.

Multiple news outlets have shown this statement to be unprovable. There is plenty of evidence to support the allegation that our data is compromised. SOURCES: The Washington Post, the BBC, Newsweek, and many others. While the administration has tried to assert that they only have “read-only” access, no one has submitted proof.

Even More Titanium-Level Gaslighting: The Department of Justice told a federal judge that there is a “firewall” in place which assures that Mr. Musk and his team do not have direct access to sensitive information.

So what? The Department of Justice now reports to the President and carries out his agenda; Republicans have made it clear they don’t believe it is an independent department of the federal government. If their master tells them to say something to a judge, chances are they will parrot it or lose their jobs.

Plus, no one has produced any observable evidence of this purported “firewall.”

The Creme-de-la-Creme of Gaslighting: Mr. Musk and his team are not compiling personal or private information; they are working to modernize outdated systems to ensure the government works better for you.

I guess this is what Republicans mean…from The New Republic:

Last week, Musk’s team was spotted installing a commercial email server into the Office of Personnel Management, in what many considered to be a massive security risk. The server gave the uncleared team potential access to onboarding, job performance reviews, and government employee health care details, which could violate HIPAA laws.

Hilary Clinton is still crucified for using private email servers for government business. But when a Republican ally and his unvetted team install a whole commercial email system into the federal network, we’re supposed to believe they’re trying to make the government work better for us. Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Let’s call this gaslighting what it is: Part of a highly organized Republican coup.

Keep calling your Senators, your House Rep, and your state attorneys general daily. Use 5calls.org to demand they halt this unconstitutional, illegal seizing of our personal data.

Your script:

Hi. I’m (state your name), and I am a constituent of the Senator/Representative. My zip code is (state it.)

I am calling to protest the illegal commandeering of the federal treasury by an unelected billionaire tech bro immigrant from South Africa and demand that the Senator/Representative initiate impeachment proceedings and the arrest of anyone involved in the unconstitutional, illegal takeover of my taxpayer funds.

If there is a specific staffer assigned to this matter, please transfer me. Otherwise, please pass along my strong concerns as a constituent.

Thank you.